TOMATO project: The Original Museum Available To Overall

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The TOMATO project (The Original Museum Available To Overall) was launched with the ambition to make Europe’s cultural heritage more accessible, inclusive, and engaging—particularly for children, families, and marginalized groups. At its heart lies a clear vision:to democratize access to museum experiences through innovative, interactive tools that combine physical and digital learning formats.

Born in the context of post-COVID challenges and wider societal disparities in cultural participation, TOMATO seeks to remove traditional barriers to museum access—be they economic, physical, cognitive, or educational.The project responds to these obstacles with a creative and user-centered solution: the Tomato Kit, an educational resource composed of a physical game box and a complementary digital app, designed to engage young audiences in meaningful cultural exploration. The Tomato Kit has been carefully developed in close collaboration with European museums, educators, and inclusion specialists.It offers interactive board games, illustrated minibooks, and hands-on activities—each adapted to a specific museum’s content—while the digital app features 3D characters, gamified missions, and augmented reality, all accessible in ten languages. Accessibility and inclusiveness have been central throughout the design process: the project adopted dyslexia-friendly fonts, tactile tools, multilingual content, and usability features designed with children with special needs in mind.

Beyond learning, TOMATO fosters social inclusion and engagement by reaching children in vulnerable situations, educators working in underserved communities, and families with limited mobility or resources. It allows them to enjoy museum-based learning both remotely and in person, expanding participation to those who may otherwise be excluded from cultural experiences.

The project has also served as a platform for museum innovation and transnational cooperation. With a consortium of 13 partners across eight countries—including museums, research institutions, cultural associations, and creative agencies—TOMATO has facilitated exchange, training, and shared design between organizations of diverse sizes and missions. Around 36 museums and 42 schools across Europe have joined the initiative, helping to validate and spread the use of the Tomato Kit.

At its core, TOMATO promotes a shared European identity and cultural citizenship. By integrating heritage, play, and inclusive design, the project empowers children and communities to see museums as spaces that belong to everyone. Looking ahead, TOMATO aspires to continue expanding through partnerships and market-based strategies. The project’s tools are built for scalability and will serve as a replicable model for other cultural institutions aiming to engage new audiences. TOMATO is co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme, and stands as a tangible example of how EU initiatives can drive cultural innovation, educational inclusion, and cross-border cooperation to build a fairer, more participatory Europe.

WHO WERE WE?

Project partners

The project involved 13 Partners from 8 European countries. These were:

K.A.NE. Social Youth Development, Greece (coordinator)

ISHOWROOM S.R.O., Czechia

SURRENDER MEDIA SOLUTIONS SURRENDER MEDIA SOLUTIONS, Belgium

ASOCIATIA CREATIVEPLUS ONG, Romania

UDRUGA ISTARSKO-EKOMUZEJ IZ VODNJANA, Croatia

ZDRUZENJE SKUPNOST ITALIJANOV GIUSEPPE TARTINI PIRAN ASSOCIAZIONE COMUNITA DEGLI ITALIANI GIUSEPPE TARTINI PIRANO, Slovenia

SKRATELJC, ZAVOD ZA KULTURO,IZOBRAZEVANJE IN SPORT, Slovenia

SLADOVNA PISEK OPS SLADOVNA PÍSEK o.p.s., Czechia

HANDS ON! INTERNATIONALE VEREINIGUNG FUR KINDER IN MUSEEN, Austria

VENETIAN CLUSTER SRL, Italy

ABAKKUM ZAVOD ZA KRAJINO, KULTURO IN UMETNOST, PIRAN ABAKKUM PIRAN, Slovenia

GRUPPO PLEIADI SOC. COOP. SOC., Italy

“Kallitechnio”, Centre of Art, Culture and Social Empowerment “Kallitechnio”, Greece

 

WHAT DID WE DO?

Throughout its implementation, the TOMATO project carried out a coordinated set of activities to promote inclusive access to culture and stimulate creative learning for children and underserved audiences. The work progressed from research and content development, to design and production, training, pilot testing, and finally dissemination and outreach, with strong collaboration across the transnational consortium.

Research & Content Development: Partners analyzed challenges in museum accessibility and produced handbooks and methodological guidelines on pedagogy, storytelling, and universal design.

Tomato Kit Creation: The project developed the Tomato Kit – Food for Thought, combining minibooks, board/card games, manual activities, and AR-enabled experiences via the Tomato App. The digital platform was modular, multilingual, and accessible, while physical kits were produced with eco-certified materials.

Training & Capacity Building: Workshops in Romania, Greece, and Italy strengthened staff skills in inclusion, accessibility, and audience engagement.

Pilot Testing: Kits were tested in 13 museums and 42 schools with children aged 3–12, educators, and excluded groups. Feedback confirmed high educational value, with 85% of children reporting enjoyment and accessibility.

Dissemination & Outreach: Activities included an influencer campaign in nine countries, multimedia storytelling, press outreach, and stakeholder events.

Key Achievements:

Distribution of 1,250 kits and digital outreach to 437,000+ people.

Creation of a replicable hybrid learning model combining physical and digital formats.

Embedding of accessibility principles (multilingual, dyslexia-friendly, tactile tools, AR).

Commitment to sustainability with eco-friendly materials and scalable digital design.

Strong transnational cooperation, connecting institutions in 19 countries and spreading results to 45.

Main Outcomes:
The project delivered an inclusive, innovative, and replicable toolkit that strengthened the role of museums as accessible spaces for all. It showed how cross-sectoral collaboration can reduce social and cultural barriers and created a solid foundation for future EU and international expansion.

Results

The TOMATO project delivered an innovative model for cultural inclusion and education by integrating physical learning tools with digital technologies. Over three years, it exceeded expectations, combining research, co-design, and large-scale dissemination to create lasting impact.

Key Results: The main output was the Tomato Kit – Food for Thought, co-developed with museums and experts. It combined board games, minibooks, manual activities, and a multilingual app with AR features, enabling children and families to access museum content beyond institutional walls. More than 7,000 kits were distributed across eight countries, supported by eco-friendly production and a “suspended kit” scheme for underserved families.

Audience Reach: The project directly engaged 8,870 individuals, including 3,914 children, 1,372 parents, 937 educators, and 381 museum professionals. Indirect dissemination far exceeded the target of 100,000, with 437,000+ people reached digitally and over 1.2 million total views through campaigns and online media.

What to know more?

Visit our Project webiste: https://www.tomatoproject.eu/
Click here to downloat the TOMATOProject app:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iShowroom.tomatoproject&hl=en

 

 

 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EACEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.